


you find a way to stay

by ivylynn



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 12:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4391096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivylynn/pseuds/ivylynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They fall into their roles so naturally that there never comes a time where they discuss it. It's not that it matters, anyway, when they end up in bed each night, legs twined in a mess and breaths evening out as the evening progresses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you find a way to stay

It's become a routine by now, how they all end up in the same bed each night, every time in varying positions as a tell-- to how tired each of them was when they came. Chloe's room is the one they choose most of the time, though, and that's the only almost constant.

(It has nothing to do with habit and everything to do with the big bed Aubrey and Beca loved taking advantage off. It also helps that Chloe has no roommate. That's a different story, though.

Not a long one, really, because Chloe stormed into the office demanding a new room after her supposed roommate turned out to be a guy who somehow pulled off the _She's the Man_  thing.

Aubrey was mad, but Chloe acted promptly.)

Constants are an awkward thing with them, with the fact that their schedules vary and it's very hard to schedule things sometimes -- Aubrey's nerves have suffered many a reschedule -- but they don't need habits, anyway. It's college, who even tries to make solid plans in college?

Beca and Chloe don't mind it, even if Aubrey has a little bit of a problem. It's two of them whenever something needs to be changed, and it definitely pisses Aubrey off.

Beca personally loves the face she makes whenever this happens, the furrowed brows and teeth grazing over her lower lip; it's kind of cute, if you're not Aubrey in that situation. (Chloe claims "smiling is much more attractive", but she doesn't disagree directly.)

\- - -

Beca goes to Aubrey because Chloe is the polar opposite of what she needs right now. She's never been too good a sick person to handle too much enthusiasm and song, and somehow she knows that's what Chloe would bring to the table. So she walks (too slowly, too zombie-like) to Aubrey's room with a stutter in her step every now and then, the exhaustion making her want a ride to the place even though that would most likely not be possible.

No bikes in the dorms is the dumbest rule Beca's ever heard, and that's counting the no sex rule which no one abides to. She does not, however, take into account that even if the no bikes rule weren't in place, she wouldn't have been able to ride one.

She gets there, though, in record time. For her tempo, anyway, because it takes a whole twenty minutes to climb the stairs (no elevators in the building, really?) and she considers that a success. She knocks while leaning against the door frame, and Aubrey calls out, "Who is it?" but she's too afraid to rely on her voice so she just raps at the door once more and the faint sound of footsteps answers the question of whether Aubrey will decide to ignore her or not.

When the door opens, Beca's kind of thankful that the first thing that comes out of Aubrey's mouth is, "You look terrible." Not because it's mean or anything, but because that means she actually looks sick enough so she doesn't have to explain. Talking's not really her thing on good days, so she's happy to stay silent.

She's also happy that Aubrey's roommate seems to be out somewhere, and they have the room to themselves. This had more to do with being selfish and not wanting anyone else to see her like this (the people outside she's passed don't count, okay), but she isn't about to go admitting that. Aubrey, for her part, looks like she's happy; maybe content's a better word, but Beca's half-dazed mind isn't anywhere near a thesaurus. "Thanks," is what she says, and it's every bit of honesty she can muster.

From there, she has no idea how she gets to the bed, or how Aubrey makes it seem effortless when she's tired from just walking over to her place. If she were at least a little bit of her normal self, she probably would've noted that it's lucky she got there in the first place; she doesn't really know the first thing about taking care of herself on non-sick days, and this is a whole other playing field. Maybe that has something to do with her rarely ever getting sick.

And definitely never at Barden, but today's an exception. She's gone from being overworked to being oversung and right now she's just thankful that there's no music playing. There would've been music at Chloe's, or at the very least she would sing to her, which Beca is absolutely not up for. She has a great voice, but Beca's ears can't take much more than the soothing sound of Aubrey's words that she's never noticed before. Due to the fact that she doesn't use it regularly, it's mostly yelling at rehearsals Beca remembers, but her mind omits that information for the time being.

"How long have you been sick?" Aubrey questions, although she doesn't give Beca enough time to provide a reply before she speaks again. "I've got to have some medicine, let me check," she scurries around the room as Beca watches with eyes half-closed and no effort required. She needs the support of her hands as she presses the palms against the edge of the bed, holding herself in a sitting position because that's all that she can do. Right then, anyway. She doesn't want to lie down yet, she's waiting for the nausea to go away first. It's stupid how dizzy she can get just climbing the stairs, but it's also very showing of her stamina.

She should give Aubrey's required Bellas cardio more effort from now on.

(It won't happen, but it's nice to think about it in an unusual bout of will.)

Beca doesn't like drugs in any form -- not even the helpful kind -- but she takes the Advil Aubrey hands over with a concerned expression because she doesn't have it in her to fight the girl. Besides, she's there to be helped, and if some medicine would do that, she could just trust that Aubrey is right and it ends up curing her. Hopefully, by tonight. Realistically, when she gets enough sleep that she can actually call it rest. So she takes it without any comment, and it's not for the lack of voice at that moment.

"I woke up like this," and it's funny to Beca. She retains humor even at the darkest of moments, even if Aubrey doesn't seem to appreciate it. Any other day, and she'd be laughing (more like, silently chuckling) at a Beyonce reference, Beca knows it. But maybe comedy's not her forte when she's sick. (She does think that Chloe would've definitely appreciated it, but if she were in the right mind, she would've texted her to find out.) "I really did, though."

Even when laughing and smiling requires effort (and isn't that like, always for her?), she tries to honor her joke. It doesn't work, because all that comes out is a splattered cough that ends up lasting long enough to delay even Aubrey from scolding her. She knows it's scolding she plans, because she's mentioned once or twice that she should try taking it easy for a few days, apart from rehearsals.

Okay, maybe it was every day this week, but that fact escapes Beca's mind at that moment.

It starts with, "Come on, lie down," and never comes. Each second that passes proves Beca wrong, but then she also thinks Aubrey's gone out of her mind because she feels her hands on the waistband of her sweats before she sees them, pulling to get them off. It's hard to be upset that her sweatpants are being taken off when it feels so good not to have them on.

"Don't take advantage of sickness, Bree." The nickname isn't one she uses regularly, but Aubrey seems to require too many muscles. "Maybe later," she adds before her eyes go back to the ceiling and then close. She doesn't drift off just yet, but that might be because her head hurts enough to keep her awake.

She feels Aubrey covering her with a blanket before she's sure that the girl crawls underneath it, next to her. Aubrey's never the big spoon, so she turns Beca slightly so they're facing each other. Beca, in response, just finds the crook of Aubrey's neck with her forehead. It makes things better. "Go to sleep, you goof," she reaches away from Beca, and gets a groan in reply. "I'm just texting Chloe that she's on her own for rehearsal, I'm not going anywhere," she says, and it's frustrating because Beca can't handle someone knowing what she would've said if she had any strength for it in her.

Muttering something about how Aubrey should go barely audibly, she settles an arm around her waist just to make sure she doesn't actually listen. Aubrey gets it, because the only thing she does is kiss Beca's temple and say, "I'm not going anywhere, just let me tell her to bring some tea over after and I'm all yours."

( **Bree (15:21)** : I'm otherwise occupied, so I won't be able to come to rehearsal today. Don't forget to run Fat Amy's solo a few times.

 **Bree (15:22)** : Can you come over after with some tea?

 **Bree (15:22)** : I'm almost certain I don't have cups, so we need those, too. Three cups.

Chloe's reaction goes from a concerned expression to a focused one, because she needs to remember every bit of that with Aubrey's sudden announcement in the back of her mind and she's not on the right track when she even forgets to text back.)

True to her word, she leaves her phone somewhere behind Beca on the bed and doesn't particularly care about it. Not right now. She entangles her legs with Beca's while she calls her. And perhaps she won't be able to fall asleep herself, but it's alright because the rhythm of Beca's breaths is enough of a beat to keep her entertained for the time being.

She does doze off at one point, and it's probably for longer than she thinks because when Chloe comes to the room (and she's not too quiet about it), it's already dark outside. "You were so secretive about why you're not coming to rehearsal and Beca--" she trails off, because she notices said girl in Aubrey's embrace, closer than she's ever been to anyone. "Oh," leaves past her lips as the realization hits her.

Alright, it's the wrong conclusion she gets to, but it's still enough to keep her silent.

For at least until she pours three cups (Aubrey always has plastic cups, bless her, because Chloe's definitely forgotten them) of hot water from her thermos and puts tea bags in each one. Aubrey for her part untangles herself from Beca and takes both cups for her and the other girl, not really wanting to wake her up just yet. Chloe takes residence on Aubrey's roommate's bed who's mostly not even there anymore, something about her boyfriend living at a frat house that's very welcoming of new guests. Tucking her legs under herself, she finally asks. "Why did you skip?" It comes off as more curious than jealous, even though it's the other way around. Then again, she knows the three of them can't exactly all skip at the same time, who knows what would happen if that were the case.

Actually, she has a pretty good guess -- Fat Amy would take charge of the group and the rest of the girls would probably be too traumatized to continue acapella after that.

"Beca's sick," Aubrey replies, her straight posture indicating no remnants of sleep. She blinks a few times, and it's enough to get the drowsiness out of her. Chloe thinks she hears Beca say something, and Aubrey confirms it when she rolls her eyes and adds, "Not sick, under the weather." It makes Chloe laugh when Beca tries to get up and falls right back down -- it makes Aubrey panic over the two cups in her hands, eyes widening for a split second. She gets it right the second time, even though Aubrey lifts the cups. Just in case.

For someone claiming how not sick she is, Beca can barely stay in a sitting position; if it weren't for the wall against her back and Aubrey on her side, she's pretty sure it'd take far too much to just stay straight in any other situation. Still not sick. "I'm feeling okay," she gives a determined nod that's far too distant to be convincing. (She's focusing on not spilling the tea from the cup she's been handed by Aubrey, it's taking a while to stop her hands from shaking.)

"Of course," Chloe agrees, deciding to ignore that because Beca isn't the epitome of looking okay but saying that would only get her in trouble, she guesses. "I did some new choreography today, and I really liked it so I added it to our set for the performance," she says instead, because the rehearsals are usually a success if Aubrey's not there to point out how the moves don't work with the songs. It doesn't happen often. She's dreading the fact that her co-captain might just take it out when she sees it, and it's a shame because everyone else praised her for it.

Aubrey always makes too much sense when she explains how it's not the best thing for that part of the song, so she doesn't complain, as long as she gets some of the moves in. The dances are all her, anyway, it's not like she's being denied a large part in this.

There's a long silence as they all take a sip of tea -- it's Aubrey's favorite, Chloe doesn't even like tea, and Beca has nothing to complain about because it soothes her throat. Beca breaks it. "I still need to finish the mix," and by the condition that her voice is in, she won't be singing it any time soon. Neither one of them mentions it, though, because they have enough common sense to just look over it. Aubrey cringes, though, and Beca feels it all too much. It's still better than talking about it.

"Take your time, we have two months still," Chloe says, and Aubrey can only manage a hum that's somewhat like agreeing. That's enough for Beca.

\- - -

It's almost always Aubrey in the middle. She can make sure both Chloe and Beca are there and alright from the contact of Beca's hand ever so slightly resting on her hip and Chloe's head on her shoulder more often than not. She isn't a big spoon in any form, but she holds Chloe and Beca doesn't even like cuddling so it works out for them. Besides, when she gets up inevitably before the two of them, she can forgo the barely any touching from Beca and escape by moving over her.

Beca doesn't wake up easily, and Aubrey's careful enough not to be the one to wake her before ten in the morning on any given day. Chloe's made that mistake more than one time.

But getting up is far from Aubrey's mind when she wakes up at eight in the morning, even though falling back asleep is a longshot. She can just close her eyes and hope time will pass a little faster than it normally does because eight is in no way an appropriate time to get up at, but nine is a faraway fantasy just now.

Somehow, Chloe and Beca move at the exact same moment, and Beca's hand slips under Aubrey's tee shirt and onto her stomach while Chloe nuzzles her nose into the crook of her neck. It's enough to keep Aubrey's mind off trying to get back to sleep for another hour.

\- - -

Three full cups of vodka will make everything satisfactory, Chloe's come to know. There's a reason for celebration -- or sorrow, but she dares not think it -- and the party deserves to have at least someone who honors it properly. It's nearly Spring Break, and one party has to be decent enough.

She's grown out of the habit of going to every single one she's been invited to, mostly because Beca sometimes asks her to stay in her room instead and she happily takes a seat on the bed and puts on _Legally Blonde_ because it always seems like a better option to the alternative of getting drunk.

Aubrey finds Chloe dangerously near the pool behind the house and hurries her step until she reaches her. Chloe has things under control, obviously, with her yellow cup in one hand and enough liquor in her stomach to comfortably stop drinking at any point. She just doesn't really want to. It's the end of the season for the Bellas, and she has a reason to drink. It's her night to get drunk, because she's missed so many of her vodka-filled parties in the past months that she actually feels the need to recuperate.

It sounds silly, even in her drunken thoughts. And yet that doesn't stop her from getting up and close with her old friend. She doesn't think about it, but it surely has something to do with Aubrey that she doesn't drink as much as she did in freshman year. So when she says, "I've been thinking about you," too loudly and definitely directed at Aubrey -- a finger pointed at her and everything -- she's neither joking nor lying. "You, Aubrey Posen, have been on my mind. Officially." She's not drunk, she has things under control. Definitely.

Chloe's not even sure why Aubrey catches her when she (accidentally) trips and starts falling behind, she could've stopped herself from falling. There's a reason why Aubrey doesn't drink, and Chloe's heard it a thousand times. "I don't even like alcohol, Chloe." The words ring in her ears whenever she's drunk and Aubrey isn't. Which is at most of the parties they attend, scarce in recent months. It's been three years since she's first heard them, and she has yet to believe them.

But Chloe refuses to let herself believe it has to do with Aubrey keeping an eye out for her. No, that can't be it.

"Is there an unofficial way to be on someone's mind?" Aubrey really doesn't know why she's even asking, she won't get a serious reply if she begs for it. She puts an arm around Chloe, because it's safer that way. She also edges her away from the pool, which Chloe doesn't even notice, really, she's too busy answering the question.

It would be rude not to. "The one that's not said. Like Beca never says she's missed us when we know it's true but it wouldn't hurt to hear it," she's too honest for her own good, Aubrey notes. Beca's in no mood to hear that, if Aubrey has to say so herself.

"Why don't we get you home, huh?" The question has no chance of succeeding, Aubrey knows it, but it's still a valid one. Not to Chloe, that girl has other plans. Plans that include cheering up and making Aubrey laugh because she needs to laugh. Chloe hasn't seen her laugh for as long as she's stopped being sober that night.

It's three in the morning and it's been four hours. Which is a long time around Chloe, although granted she hasn't even seen her for the past hour or so. She's encountered Beca, who's got her own little buzz going, she didn't even protest to a chaste kiss that she always so readily escapes by planting her cheek instead of lips in front of other people.

But Aubrey has yet to crack a smile. Or a smirk, or whatever she decides would be the best thing to express happiness. Or maybe just a break from feeling like the whole world is caving in on her because she's failed the Bellas because she hasn't.

So Chloe does it the only way she knows how. She escapes Aubrey's careful hold to head over to Benji and Jesse and she instructs them to give her a beat. Benji probably only does it because she gets too close to his face and he has a thing with girls being inches away that makes him oblige to their every wish.

In retrospect, a song isn't a good choice because Chloe doesn't even know what she's singing. It's a tossup between Ed Sheeran's All of the Stars and Nick Blaemire's Sorority Girls which makes absolutely no sense, but they're at a frat party. At one point, she's pretty sure she hears Beca join in, and they've always made a great sound together.

Perhaps she only imagines that. Either way, she likes the sound when no one else seems to -- her hint of that should've been that the Bellas join her far too loudly and she loses sight of Aubrey until the very last note. She sees her cringe, and on any other day, she'd be insulted, but the last note is far too high and she doesn't pull it off.

Alcohol has a way of making her not regret her shortcomings as a singer. She's thankful for that, and for the fact she probably won't even remember it in the morning.

And then she loses Aubrey again, for another hour. But she's sure she sees her laughing from afar at one point. Mission complete, outcome successful. A laugh in Aubrey's world is reserved for the happiest of times, and it slipping through the cracks at one of the most boring parties of her life is quite a success in Chloe's books.

Because, Chloe thinks, Aubrey deserves to be happy. In theory, she is, but there's a reason why Chloe tries (actively, persistently) to make her smile and, if she feels particularly pushy, laugh. Like there's a reason no one stops her from drinking tonight, or how neither of them gets too close to Beca except for a few moments. Aubrey needs it.

 _It_ consists of a reason to laugh, happiness and an excuse to relax on some rare occasion. More importantly, Chloe needs to show her that she can be that way all the time, and not just around her. She feels special, _sure_ , but Chloe knows better than to put herself in front of anything.

And it's a habit, which is definitely not surprising. At the age of nine, Chloe doesn't care she has to give her best friend the dress she knows she's seen first. Her mom makes wonderful dresses, though, she can get by without one store-bought thing. She's fine.

She forgets easily, at eleven, that she likes Brody Michaelson because one of her friends mentions she likes him. Chloe tells herself she doesn't even like him that much, and she makes a convincing argument. So when he asks her if she ever wants to, like, go to the movies or something, she smiles politely and tells him he should ask Jemma Davenport, she has a feeling the girl will say yes.

Her high school's production of _A Chorus Line_ doesn't even need her at seventeen. It's her senior year, but you know what? Whatever. She gives the part away with ease, if it gets the girl that needs a scholarship to Tisch to college. She doesn't mention that she, too, could use a scholarship, but Georgia's good enough for her.

 _I'm fine_ is Chloe's chorus for basically the majority of her life, and she really _is_ fine. Mostly. At times, she wonders what turns her life would've taken in New York City, but that's a distant dream nowadays because it would've meant never meeting Aubrey. Or Beca. Or the Bellas.

Or anyone, really -- she doesn't say goodbye easily, so the thought keeps her at that party, with no regrets whatsoever unless she's had a bit to drink. No one blames her, she thinks. No one has the right to because she's put everyone in front of her and they can't complain.

So when she's drunk, she doesn't think about those things -- not too much. She wonders how great it would be to go for a late night swim. She questions whether the frat shirts are seriously necessary (then reminds herself that the Bella scarf is around her hand still), and she thinks the vodka here is a special sort of amazing.

And, most of all, she finds ways to make Aubrey sneak a smile. Twice, now that they're on the way back to her dorm room. At least she's pretty sure it's her room they're going towards, nothing really looks familiar through a blur.

"You can just take my hand, I can totes walk on my own," Chloe declares, leaning completely against Aubrey with arms linked and no intention of letting go of her. "My buzz is wearing off, anyway, I'm fine to walk solo."

Aubrey rolls her eyes. "Of course you are," but she never lets go of her grip.

The sheer use of the word solo is alarming enough, and not because Aubrey prefers a more coherent and eloquent vocabulary.

Neither makes a move to unlink from each other and it's probably for the best; Chloe has a sudden feeling she might fall and Aubrey's there just holding her to make sure she doesn't. It's sweet, Chloe notes -- sweet and caring, not the typical Aubrey you'd see on a good day, even. Unless you're her and... well, saying Beca sees it every day is kind of a stretch.

Chloe just has two questions: a, where is Beca? and b, "Do you know you have the prettiest smile I've ever seen?" The second one comes out right away, and it's not according to plan. She doesn't care about plans as soon as she notices that it actually makes Aubrey chuckle. It's a small, doubtful noise but she hears it. The remains of it shine in a smile.

So Aubrey doesn't drink, but she takes compliments like Chloe does alcohol; barely ever well and embarrassingly so. And Chloe feels the night's been a complete triumph. Until she almost falls over the stairs, but even after she collects herself it adds up to perfection.

Seeing Beca on the bed clarifies question number one, or why she hasn't seen her at the party when they were preparing to leave.

There's only so much Chloe knows for certain about Beca, and one of those things is that she sleeps like a log. And that's putting it lightly, really. She can be _loud_ and she's never really seen Beca wake up. Especially not after she's been drinking. At least with them both dazed, ten cups in the plus as far as vodka went but she's not counting, there's no chance for an early morning.

No one really wants that, not as Aubrey changes into her pajamas (or Chloe's pajamas, she doesn't look before she takes them) and while Chloe struggles to find her way out of her clothes. The latter she needs some help with, so Aubrey obliges and aids her with getting under the covers because she's just that helpful.

There's an instant smile tugging on Chloe's lips when Beca moves her hand over her waist. Still sleeping, she checks, but all the better, really. Because contact is all Chloe ever needs at night and even dreaming Beca knows that. She's getting predictable.

She doesn't quite care much about that at five in the morning.

Aubrey tries getting up before a decent time, but Chloe holds her in place around nine in the morning, grunting and groaning about how she's so happy to be in the middle for once and she wants it to last. She doesn't even open her eyes, but Aubrey takes them into account and stays.

Just the three of them, she can handle getting up at ten. Or noon.

(That's Beca's fault, Chloe even agrees with her.)

\- - -

Chloe hates waking up early when she doesn't have to, it's some aversion she's gained thanks to Beca because she remembers distinctly the chipper mood she's been in before Beca was even at Barden and her and Aubrey actually went for morning walks. That was a good time, really, but she won't give up her sleep for anything now.

It's better, really, because she can wake up with Aubrey's hand underneath her and the palm of it resting on her lower back. And she can count on her not getting up when she moves her head more into the girl's neck. It's a sleepy gesture, done willingly to stop Aubrey for getting up too early.

The truth is, Chloe loves the dynamic of their sleeping, and though Aubrey will always get up before them, and then Chloe would follow with a few complaints that are loud purposely to wake Beca up (it never works), it ends up being the one thing she looks forward to every day.

Or at least when she's sure they'll end up in her bedroom at the end of the night. Because that one little move makes Aubrey involuntarily smile and let out a gentle laugh that escapes unheard by Beca but it echoes clearly in Chloe's ears every time.

\- - -

It's too close to her Intro to Philosophy exam for Beca to do anything but study for it. And yet there she is, on that same patch of grass she's taken to calling her own on the quad, leaning against the tree that feels more comfortable than her own bed when she leans her back against it.

Aubrey feels it, too, when she approaches with Chloe. Beca's posture is too relaxed and there's no trace of perplexion as the come nearer -- she's in her music again, the headphones confirm that. And the faint sound of music running through them that she hears when they take their places in front of the girls.

It sounds great, but that's not the point.

Beca only notices them a few second later, only because Aubrey waves her hand like a lunatic to get her to see them. "You'll go deaf one day, what happens to your future career then?" She asks, and the eye roll she gets in response is so predictable that she can even tell you exactly the moment Beca will shake her head after it and she'll get it right to the split second.

"Then I guess I should stop hanging around you, because you have a tendency to yell," Beca thinks Chloe looks proud at this, but she's sure it's only because she's always got the softer side of Aubrey that when Beca came into the picture it was only obvious she couldn't be the same towards her. She's not jealous.

The two of them will say that Beca doesn't notice things on any given day and they'll go to a great length trying to prove the lie. But she does notice. She sees how Chloe's shoulders are tense even when she tries to relax. She spectates and nods about the fact that her eyes don't seem the same bright blue that they're all used to by now.

(Beca took a while getting used to that, but her attention span's never been the greatest and she couldn't be blamed for getting lost in Chloe's eyes. One time, she even forgets the lyrics to a song that they'd been practising for a while; it was even worse than it would've been because it was her first solo.)

Beca also is clear about the fact that Aubrey's failed to get whatever's troubling Chloe out by the too-straight posture she has as she hesitantly sits on the grass. She's pretty sure Aubrey will never get used to not sitting on a blanket, but she never comments on it, because she doesn't want her to start bringing a blanket over every time.

In her experience, that means they interrupt her less than she wants them to, but she never says a thing about it. She's just thankful for the day Chloe spotted her on the quad and prompted Aubrey to go, the first time she'd sat down on grass. A part of Beca believes Aubrey's more comfortable without some scratchy blanket, but she's not the one who's supposed to be the expert on these things.

She's just perceptive about those two. Don't tell Chloe, she'd get defensive.

"How did the exam go?" And Beca knows, by their reactions solely, that she hit the nerve. Chloe shakes her head before she can catch herself doing it. Aubrey lifts her head and then looks at Chloe as she realizes what she's forgotten until that. She also knows enough to remove her headphones and drop them on her laptop. "That bad, eh?"

And above all else, she _knows_ those are the wrong words. Chloe's eyes widen before they contract when she tries to hold the tears in as they well up in the corners of her eyes. "I might fail," she says, and both Aubrey and Beca notice the crack that the statement has somewhere before the much-too-stressed 't' in might.

It's never been a big deal when Chloe thinks she'll fail, but it's her senior year this time, and that means she might not be able to graduate with Aubrey. Not that graduating is any better with Aubrey, it just makes her seem like a failure if Aubrey walks out on that stage and she's just in the crowd.

She knows Beca would be holding her hand tighter in the moment when she would be supposed to be coming on, and she can't handle that. Chloe doesn't need the pity that would come with failing and having to wait another year to get on the stage. Not when she's passing everything else and this is just one thing she couldn't care less about.

One thing might set her back a year, and it crushes her -- the realization hits her right after she exits the auditorium she's had her exam in, probably harder than she's willing to admit. There's just a second where she stops, wipes away a tear and by then Aubrey's coming from the other end of the hall and she's _happy_. Chloe can't be the one to remind her about the exam, because that leads to talk about how she's done the test and she's done less than she's studied for.

Aubrey's tactful enough (for once) not to word her pity smile that says "I'm sorry" instead of "I'm sure you've done better than you think". Beca nudges her foot just in case, and then Aubrey pities the shoes that she looks to, which are dirtier than they deserve. It distracts her for almost a few whole seconds.

But then she remembers Chloe's concerned thoughts from a week ago, and the way she handled that. " _If you're not ready, then get the hell out of Kuwait_." She uses that far too much their senior year, but it's when it matters the most to her. The use of the saying (proverb, by now) helps her focus and it's been gradually getting to a point where she says it at least once a week.

"You won't fail," Beca snaps them out of their thoughts because she finally finds the mix she's been looking for on her laptop. "And I know that, because I know you, Chlo," she adds, just as a matter-of-fact statement that she probably annoys Chloe by saying.

(She doesn't, honestly, because Chloe likes the fact that Beca can say she knows her -- she's worked hard on that.)

Beca continues. "And I know you've studied for this, and I _know_ you only need a passing grade," she uses the verb know as if it means something more than it does. Mostly, she thinks, it's because she knows so many things than Aubrey or Chloe suspect, and she's sure they'll never figure it out.

So she stays quiet about that and passes her headphones to Chloe, who's reluctant to take them but not to put them on. Chloe's world is music, and Beca _is_ music. They find solace in songs they discover, and Beca blends them together into a soundtrack of what could be a great movie one day. Chloe doesn't mention that last part, because it's far too much and too early and nothing spells disaster better than going more than one step at a time with Beca Mitchell.

They have couple things, obviously, because each of them reacts differently to the other. Beca and Chloe have music. Aubrey and Chloe find entertainment in typically "girly" movies and feelings and sharing. Aubrey and Beca have their differences, so they naturally complete each other; where Beca is hectic, Aubrey helps her organize -- where Aubrey is traditional, Beca aids in changing things up. So yes, they have the couple things, but as a whole, it's always about the three of them.

Just like the mix Beca turns on for Chloe is so very _Aubrey_ that she doesn't even need to see how Beca's named it to know that it's about the blonde. She won't know that it's about both her and Aubrey, which is why the title says 'Bree' instead of a generic name.

"What songs?" Aubrey asks, trying to hear some of it, but Beca's got the volume low.

She shrugs in response, one-shouldered as usually. "Oh, just some hits here and there, Chloe's favorites." There's a thing about Beca's voice when she lies, the way it cuts off at the ends of the words and plays to a beat that's neither here nor there and absolutely nothing Aubrey approves of. But she lets it slide because music isn't her thing with them. She loves music, studies music in her free time, but she's not music. She's in the Bellas because it's the booth Chloe pointed at their freshman year and she's never been the one to refuse her.

Not even on the first day they meet, when Chloe appears out of nowhere at orientation and says they'll be good friends soon enough. She can _see_ it. So they have to join a club together, and they both agree that singing is something they can do, so it's only logical to join the best girl group on campus.

The thing is, Aubrey doesn't care, because Beca's mixes make Chloe smile when she's down and she doesn't mind that. Beca has another perspective on it; if she minds it, she doesn't say so. And both of them are scared because they've never been the closest but they don't mention it. At this moment, they're good.

At this moment, they're fine.

And that's all they need, really. They don't even need more than a few looks exchanged to agree to that. Except Aubey agrees that Beca won't decide she's just an annoyance--, and Beca agrees that one day she'll ask if Aubrey feels left out. Neither of those come now, so instead they mirror a smile that never looks comfortable on either of their faces if it's pointed at anyone else. Right there, on the quad, the smiles don't seem honest, but they're alright with that.

Too many people around, and Chloe's song is finishing up so Beca stops the track before it can be repeated. "How was it?" Beca gets a long inhale, a blink and an encouraging nod from Chloe before she gets a reply wrapped up in words. She doesn't need it, anyway, but she humors Chloe and feigns a confused look that makes the girl say what she means aloud.

"Perfect, just as it's supposed to be," Chloe says, and Aubrey's the one confused for a second because she gazes at her for a few moments. No one asks much of anything after that, really, because Beca scurries to save everything she's been working on and shut down her laptop and it takes a second to actually make herself stand. She extends a hand to Chloe, because Aubrey follows in her suit far too promptly to need any help. That, and she doesn't have more than one free hand, and Chloe needs to hold it more than anyone.

At one point, they have to go their separate ways. Beca goes to her dorm room because that's where she actually works on the things she needs for exams, and she can't convince either of the two girls to distract her from assignments. Chloe heads to the classroom she's supposed to hand her paper in at, the deadline's nearing and she doesn't want to push it anymore than she already has with an hour on the clock to give it to the professor. Aubrey says she's going to her room, but she decides to not do that somewhere along the way; she ends up at the campus cafe with a few friends who've been there already.

It's five in the afternoon when they end up splitting up, and neither one of them thinks they'll see each other until they repeat the routine in a few days, but each of them is wrong because Beca needs a break from books so she goes to Chloe where she won't be bothered by constant jabs that she should study. Aubrey comes only later that night, because she can't sleep and (for the most part) because Chloe shouldn't be alone while waiting for the results.

\- - -

Beca doesn't really pay mind to their sleeping habits. She just goes where the music is, and that's usually somewhere behind Chloe and Aubrey and she doesn't mind it. Not one bit. She gets to sleep in the corner of the bed where the sunlight doesn't exactly reach when the curtains are closed.

She also gets to have her back free of any touching, because blankets aren't really her thing unless it's extremely cold, and Aubrey is on her other side, requiring little to no contact. Still, when she's dazed in the morning, she finds her hand moving to wrap around the girl more so than during the night because she knows Aubrey needs it.

She does know things, after all, she's established that, but Aubrey won't ever admit to that little gesture being exactly what she needs in the morning sun.

Beca doesn't push to hear it, either, they're a good match.

Together, they're a storm of interests and attitudes that mainly mash well into a pouring mess at the end of each night. They're three girls in the midst of their college classes and two of them have one foot out the door, but talking about it seems not to have come yet so they communicate through shaky touches and pulling each other closer. They are a mix of the roles they fall into when they're together, and talk about  _that_  doesn't ever come, but they're comfortable and happy and  _loved_ ; they'll be fine.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! comments are very much appreciated.  
> the title is from "caught in the storm" from Smash.


End file.
